UK producers pair up for Magic Light Pictures

UK producers Martin Pope and Michael Rose have joined forces to launch a new UK based film company Magic Light Pictures which they will jointly own and run.

Specialising in comedy and family entertainment, Magic Light Pictures aims to produce talent driven, quality feature films for a worldwide, commercial audience - working across both live action and animation.

Martin Pope's recent productions include The Heart Of Me (starring Paul Bettany, Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Williams) and Lawless Heart. He is currently in post on That Touch Of Pink (a co-production starring Jimi Mistry and Kyle Maclachlan).

Michael Rose was executive producer of Aardman Animation's Chicken Run for Dreamworks and Pathe and continues to work with Aardman as executive producer of Nick Park's forthcoming Wallace & Gromit movie for DreamWorks. Since leaving Aardman in August 2002, he has been developing a range of animation and live action projects through his Sirolo Films company.

Pope and Rose have now rolled their pre-existing development slates into Magic Light Pictures, and will conduct all their activities through the new Company which has offices in Pinewood and Soho.

Magic Light's initial projects in development include:

Wild Thing - A comedy drama about a British bank manager who gets entangled with a maverick French girl half his age. The screenplay has been written by director Paul Unwin whose short film Syrup was nominated for an Academy Award.

Marshall - An 21st Century Western set in Cyberspace. Written by New Zealander James Cunningham, who will also direct, the film will use a mix of CGI, motion capture and live action. Magic Light is co-producing with Celluloid Dreams' Hengameh Panahi.

Mrs Gonzalez - A comedy written by Lucinda Coxon (Heart Of Me).

Two projects from Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger, writer/director team behind the award winning Lawless Heart. Three Way Split is being backed by Film Council, while Sparkle is backed by BBC Films.

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